IMPACTS & ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS

Environmental Protections

 

Larimer County Road & Bridge has designed the Project to minimize environmental and community impacts.

The Project is generally designed to minimize impacts by:

  • Using Existing Infrastructure: The project will be located partially within an existing quarry.
  • Limiting the Project Footprint: The area of new disturbance will be limited to approximately 9 acres.
  • Standardizing Work Hours: Operations will be limited to standard weekday business hours.
  • Prioritizing the Viewshed: The project site is designed to be obscured from Pingree Park Road and other key points of interest.

Our specific commitments to minimize impacts are shown below.

  • Limit quarry operations to standard weekday business hours.
  • Suspend site operations between December 1 and April 30 to protect big game animals.
  • Manage site access and limit employee traffic to minimize disruption to nearby roads.

Larimer County commits to the following practices to limit erosion and protect surface water near the site:

  • Mound of dirt covered in vegetation
    A vegetated stockpile at Larimer County's Strang Pit.
     Apply best management practices to control dust and erosion from wind and water.
  • Develop and adhere to a Temporary Erosion Control Plan to prevent sediment from leaving the site.  
  • Develop and adhere to a Stormwater Management Plan to protect downstream water quality.  
  • Design and maintain stormwater control features to safely manage stormwater during storm events.  
  • Salvage and store topsoil for reuse during reclamation.  
  • Stabilize and seed soil stockpiles during operations.  
  • After operations are complete, regrade highwall slopes to support long-term site stability.
  • After operations are complete, reclaim the quarry walls using salvaged topsoil and seeding with grasses and forbs.

Larimer County will minimize impacts on vegetation at and near the site by:

  • Reestablishing native grasses and forbs in reclaimed wildlife habitat areas.
  • Managing noxious weeds throughout operations and reclamation.
  • Chipping removed trees for reuse as organic material during site restoration.

Larimer County is committed to protecting wildlife that frequent the Project area by doing the following: 

 

Eagles sitting in a leafless tree with blue sky above
Bald eagles overlooking Larimer County's Strang Pit aggregate site
  • Conducting nesting bird surveys before any ground disturbance. If a nest is found, a disturbance buffer will be applied, and the area will not be disturbed until the young have fledged the nest.
  • Coordinate with Colorado Parks & Wildlife regarding nearby raptor nests.
  • Install wildlife-friendly perimeter fencing.
  • Use bear-resistant trash receptacles onsite.

Larimer County has designed the project in a way that obscures visibility from Pingree Park Rd. and other key observation points.

The Project is partially located within an existing quarry area that was never reclaimed. Following operations, quarry highwalls will be graded and revegetated to encourage vegetation growth. The quarry floor will be reclaimed as a graveled surface for CSU's future use for Mountain Campus activities.

 

Photo of existing quarry with gravel floor and vegetated mountainside with blue sky
Current conditions - existing quarry

 

Rendering of reclaimed site with gravel floor, surrounded by mountains with pine trees and blue sky overhead
Rendering of the same view after reclamation. Note:  vegetated quarry walls and CSU Mountain Campus overflow area

Potential Impacts

Larimer County hired an environmental consultant to conduct a review of all potential impacts from the proposed Project. Although this Project is not subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), environmental analyses of impacts were implemented in general accordance with the policy to ensure a robust analysis of potential impacts. 

Environmental resources were evaluated for each phase of the project and were compared to existing conditions and the Project Alternative (hauling aggregate from the County's Strang Pit in the Front Range). The following impacts were identified:

 

No Impact

Air

No Impact. The Project would generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the alternative of hauling aggregate from the Front Range.

Cultural Resources
  • No Impact. No cultural resources were identified in the Project area.

 

 

Temporary Minor Impacts

Recreation
  • Minor, temporary impacts.
  • No direct impact on any recreational resource.
  • Daytime quarry operations may result in short-term noise or visual effects that could affect the use of nearby trails and campgrounds.
Sound
  • Minor, temporary impacts during active quarry operations.
  • Quarrying operations will be perceptible to people at nearby facilities (CSU Mountain Campus, Tom Bennett Campground), but the noise levels at those locations would meet residential thresholds for daytime exposures (per Colorado Revised Statute § 25-12-103). 
Traffic
  • Minor, temporary impacts
  • Weekday traffic may increase up to 3.7% on Pingree Park Rd. during quarry operations.
Visual
  • Minor, temporary impacts
  • Quarry activities would not be visible from Pingree Park Rd. or nearby key observation points, but may be visible from some high-elevation locations.

 

 

Mixed Temporary and Permanent Impacts

Soils
  • Permanent impacts to 6 acres of the quarry floor that will be converted to a gravel-surfaced staging, storage, and outdoor classroom area for CSU Mountain Campus use.
  • Temporary impacts to the remainder of the site soils, which will be revegetated and reclaimed to wildlife habitat after quarrying is complete.
Surface Water
  • Permanent, but minor impacts.
  • Changes in stormwater discharge from the site would be minimal at the watershed scale and would not measurably affect the South Fork of the Cache la Poudre River.
  • Small, long-term increases in runoff would remain after the project is complete, due to the conversion of 6 acres of the quarry floor to a gravel-surfaced staging, storage, and outdoor classroom area for CSU Mountain Campus use.
Wildlife
  • Permanent impacts to 6 acres of Lodgepole Pine and Aspen forest that will be converted to a staging, storage, and outdoor classroom area for CSU Mountain Campus use.
  • Temporary impacts to the remainder of the site due to the displacement of common wildlife species during operations. Wildlife is expected to return to the site following reclamation.
  • No protected species or sensitive riparian habitats exist in the Project area.
Vegetation
  • Permanent impacts to 6 acres of Lodgepole Pine and Aspen forest that will be converted to a staging, storage, and outdoor classroom area for CSU Mountain Campus use.